Gasoline Station

An 11-year-old Westminster boy told police he was befriended by a man who led him into a woods and sexually assaulted him Wednesday afternoon.The boy was able to escape afterward and run to a nearby gasoline station on George Street, where city police were called. When the officers returned to the spot in the woods where the attack occurred, they determined it was outside the city limits and turned the case over to state police.The assault is being investigated by the child abuse section of the state's attorney's office.

Two men robbed a Linthicum gasoline station Monday night of an undisclosed amount of money after one of them knocked one clerk to the floor and pulled a handgun on another, county police said yesterday.The men entered Hidlebrand's Citgo in the 6800 block of Baltimore- Annapolis Blvd. shortly after 9 p.m. One of the men hit Robert Lee Penn, 37, in the face with an unknown object and knocked him to the ground. The man then grabbed Mr. Penn by the hair and dragged him up to the counter, police said.

Two men -- one armed with a revolver -- robbed an Odenton gasoline station Wednesday afternoon and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, county police said.The men were wearing blue bandannas over their faces when they walked into a Crown station in the 1100 block of Annapolis Road shortly after 3:30 p.m. One of the men pulled out a revolver and demanded money from the clerk. The gunman took money from the cash register after the clerk opened it, and the second robber went behind the counter and searched several drawers in an unsuccessful attempt to get more cash, police said.

Maryland State Police are seeking information about two armed robberies Tuesday night in South Carroll, one at a dry cleaning establishment, the second at a Sykesville gasoline station. Based upon the proximity of the businesses and similar descriptions of the robber, police believe the robberies were committed by the same man, said Lt. Terry L. Katz, Westminster barracks commander. The first incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. at Admiral Cleaners in the 6300 block of Sykesville Road in Eldersburg, police said.

A Columbia gasoline station attendant was shot late Monday, and Howard County police said yesterday that they think the two men responsible have committed two other holdups recently. The victim, a 41-year-old Columbia man, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police did not release his name or details of his injuries. Police said two men approached the counter of the Exxon station in the 10100 block of Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia's Town Center about midnight and that one of them shot the clerk.

Police are looking for the gunman who robbed the Greentree Exxon gasoline station Saturday afternoon, county police said.The man walked into the station in the 8000 block of Crain Highway about 1 p.m. and pulled out a black semiautomatic handgun, police said.He ordered the clerk to give him money from the cash register. The clerk obeyed and the gunman fled with an undisclosed sum, police said.Several witnesses saw him go to the back of the station and get into a car that may have been either a dark green Lexus or a black Infinity.

A Westminster woman, preparing for her wedding at the end of the month, returned to her car on the Cranberry Mall parking lot Sunday to find that someone had stolen her wedding gown.City police said Sherry. E. Janocha, who lives on Liberty Street, left the gown in the locked vehicle on her way to a fitting.She found that the door was unlocked when she returned from the mall and that the gown was gone.The gown was in a J. C. Penney garment bag and was valued at $300, police said.Ms. Janocha said she is hoping someone returns the gown because it is of little use to anyone but her.POLICE* Westminster: An employee of the Exxon gasoline station on Route 140 reported someone drove off without paying for gas Monday.

The county Zoning Board has voted to rezone part of a Cooksville farm on Route 97 for a small convenience center and a gasoline station.The ruling will grant the Brice Ridgely family the county's first rural business zoning, a category created by the the board in 1992.The decision on the 13.9-acre parcel, which is now zoned rural conservation, will become final after Zoning Board members sign a written decision.The zoning change was allowed because it is "a business that is directly related to agriculture," said Councilman Charles C. Feaga, a Republican who represents west county.

J. Morris Sanders Sr., an employee for 27 years of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., died Sunday of heart failure at a hospital in Keyser, W.Va. He was 90.Services for Mr. Sanders were being held today at the Rotruck Funeral Home in Keyser.Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Druid Ridge Cemetery, Park Heights Avenue and Old Court Road.Mr. Sanders moved back to his native West Virginia from Northwood in 1970, four years after his retirement. He had worked in BG&E's gas distribution department.

An argument between a father and son accelerated into a shooting Friday, sending the younger man to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, state police reported.Troopers said Darryl N. Hodges, 32, became involved in an argument with his father, Normand H. Hodges, 61, shortly before noon. The younger man had gone to his father's home in the1800 block of Tank Road, Finksburg, to pick up belongings he had left when he moved to Baltimore recently.Investigators said the elder Mr. Hodges accused his son of taking things that did not belong to him. One shot was fired from a .32-caliber handgun and the bullet lodged in the younger man's right shoulder.